''My day starts sharp at eight in the morning in Gurgaon as making 1500 momos per day single handedly is no mean feat,'' smiles Durga Thapa. He stands out in the Gurgaon Sector 23 market with spike hair, studs in his ears, and heavily tattooed hand. Although, his green check shirt looks tattered and the grey undershirt is a bit frayed at the edges, yet he can pass off as a person, who likes to keep at the better side of fashion. Gurgaon is dotted with many people like Thapa, who have come down from Nepal to earn a living and has discovered that momos are something, which Gurgaon love and absolutely cannot live without.

When I asked as to why he came from
Nepal to run a momo stall, giving a lopsided smile, he said, ''Why
does anyone come down to work somewhere else- of course, to work and
for better opportunities. I have been in India since 2007 and I have
worked in various other businesses, but momos have paid off really
well.'' The migration from Darjeeling and Nepal happened, quite some
time back when Gorkhaland and Maoist agitation shook these people to
look for a better and peaceful life in other places and India was an
easy option.

In
Focus

Thapa works for Suresh Singh, who rents
a small stall for 12000 rupees per month. Coming from Utttrakhand, he
says he is yet to make calculations for his profit margins but he
feels that the people of Gurgaon loves their momos. Selling 30 rupees
a plate of vegetarian momo and 40 rupees a plate of non vegetarian
momo, he is content for the time being about the way things are
shaping up for his momo stall.

''Since Navratri is going on, sales is
low but it takes an upward slide, specially in the winter,'' explains
Thapa. When asked a customer said, '' I love momos in the winter or
summer as it is filling and steamed. The sauce hits your palate and
complements the momos.'' Ashim Sunam from Darjeeling, for whom momos
are a lifeline says, '' It requires a lot of hard work and a lot of
co-ordinated effort to make momos. It does looks easy, but it is
not.''

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